The Rupp Report: ITMA 2015 Preview From The Saurer Group

October 6, 2015

Over the past 10 years, the name Saurer has in the headlines again and again. Since its new (Chinese) owners took over, things seems to be on the right track again. The group includes the spinning brands Schlafhorst and Zinser, the twisting brands of Allma and Volkmann, pre-spinning brand Jintan and the Saurer Embroidery brand along with the Saurer Components division consisting of the brands Accotex, Daytex, Fibrevision, Heberlein, Temco and Texparts. This large group requires an ITMA preview that is longer then the previous reports.

“E³” Labeled Machinery
The Saurer Group will reveal all new E³-labeled machinery with the triple added value for the customers is to “showcase new standards in energy savings, production flexibility, highest productivity and the most complete automation processes.” Saurer is also bringing customer service to the next level with SUN — Service Unlimited — to ensure maximum efficiency during the whole product life cycle, plus the latest innovations in components for both filament and staple yarn processing for optimum yarn quality and production efficiency.

Schlafhorst
Schlafhorst will present the next generation of the Autocoro that has been awarded the E3 label. It is said to offer spinning mills a triple added value in the areas of energy, economics and ergonomics. Compared to the previous model, the new Autocoro uses much less energy — the savings are in a two-digit percentage range. Longer machines, higher rotor speeds, intelligent automated processes and minimized maintenance costs quickly increase efficiency, productivity and profitability.

The BD 6 is equipped with patented high-speed technologies from the Autocoro; the BD 6 claims to surpass the qualitative and economic standards of other semi-automatic rotor spinning machines on the market. A new, “even more productive, energy-efficient and user-friendly generation of the BD 6 will be presented.” Take-up speeds of up to 230 meters per minute (m/min), two-digit energy savings, an LED signal system for fast checking and an ergonomic machine operation are some of the improvements.

Zinser
The latest ring spinning machines from Zinser have also the E³ label. A fully-automatic linked system solution, from the roving frame to the winding machine will be exhibited. It is said to be the “interplay of a highly integrated automation solution for the greatest possible energy savings, maximum economic efficiency and optimum user-friendliness.”

New Service Concept
Schlafhorst is presenting the new SUN service concept, which claims to set a new standard in the sector. More than 500 service employees in 20 service centers and 3 technology centers advise customers all over the world on questions relating to the increase of productivity, quality and energy savings. The company says to create technical innovations that can be retrofitted in existing machinery. With improved original parts, modernization kits, technology kits and service kits, Schlafhorst wants to take the responsibility of innovation for the entire product life cycle.

Allma Volkmann
With the CompactTwister, Allma and Volkmann are presenting high performance twisting machines for staple fiber yarns, which also have the E³ label. Energy savings of up to 40 percent can be achieved with the eco-drive concept and the eco-spindle technology with adapted spindle combinations. The productivity of the CompactTwister is 30-percent higher, thanks to the high delivery speeds of up to 120 m/min. Operating costs drop because of the low energy, space and maintenance costs. The ergonomic benefits include greater ease of use due to the improved take-up geometry, central settings and handling aids, which result in an up to 10-percent reduction in operating times. The CompactTwister covers all yarn materials as well as count ranges.

The new generation of CarpetTwister and CarpetCabler was awarded the E³ label too. Spindle and spindle pot versions as well as drive and storage technology enable very high energy savings of up to 40 percent. With delivery speeds of up to 120 m/min during uptwisting, reduced space requirements due to smaller spindle gauge and the adaptation of the spindle speed, productivity is said to be increased by up to 45 percent. Operating times can be reduced by up to 8 percent, thanks to the pneumatic creel, threading aids, new pneumatic centrally adjustable creel yarn brakes and ball yarn brakes. A new feature is the computer controlled drive system, for a quick changeover to new yarn lots and the change of production parameters.

After cabling, BCF carpet yarns are heat set in a second process step to stabilize the shape. Volkmann integrates this process step in the cabling machine — cabling and heat setting in one process run. Interim storage and handling are no longer needed at all, process costs are clearly reduced and “a significant contribution to economic efficiency is achieved with the faster order turnaround times, shorter process sequences and greater system utilization,” said the manufacturer.

The E³ label awarded TechnoCorder TC2 has a 400 m/min delivery speed and a 25 percent higher package density. Productivity is said to be up to 30 percent higher and energy costs drop by up to 10 percent. It features developments such as the new FlexiPly equipment for the production of hybrid yarns and the new larger 830 millimeter spindle spacing for the processing of coarse yarn counts. Energy-optimized modern drives and a lean yarn balloon, thanks to the optimized balloon geometry and height-adjustable balloon yarn guide, lead to low energy costs. The independently driven spindles enable limitless possibilities for the creation of new twist constructions. Two spindle gauges cover a large range of yarn counts, from 235 dtex to 33,000 dtex.

Saurer Embroidery
The newly developed E³ label Epoca 7 embroidery machine has energy savings of up to 5 percent, and customers can benefit from an increase in productivity of up to 20 percent. The machine should achieve an embroidery speed of 700 revolutions per minute (rpm), and is thereby up to 18 percent faster than the previous generation. Along with the increased production speed, other processes were optimized to achieve an overall performance increase of up to 20 percent. The new electronic yarn monitors detect yarn breaks quick and precisely. The new precise thread cut is said to ensure trouble-free production of high-quality embroidery.

The EmStudio CAD/CAM system integrates all the procedural steps from the drawing, punching and visualization to the production optimization, up to the analyses of the operating data and the archiving of designs on a platform. With the new iSed — an intelligent editor — the production and quality can be easily and efficiently optimized.

Components
This unit will introduce a new yarn technology. Accotex AccoSmart is a new sandwich cot based upon a completely new technology platform. It has been developed from two individual tailor-made high quality elastomer layers; a softer inner layer and a harder outer layer. The cots feature a larger contact area compared to conventional soft rubber cots that result in an improved and stable yarn quality over the lifetime of the cot.

Compact systems of well-known suppliers found in the market can be retrofitted to the well-established weighting arms PK 2630 SE and PK 2630 SEH. The latter is a complete substitute of weighting arms for ring frames with hexagonal support rod. This means that the front roller load can be set optimally and fully independently from the nip roller load which provides no interference between nip and front top roller.

Texparts says that more than 6 million spindles with its Zero Underwinding (ZUW) systems have been installed worldwide consistently preventing excess underwound yarn ends. A new yarn cutter has been introduced to provide long service when processing challenging yarn materials, such as Modal yarn. The new yarn cutter generation is available for all yarn count ranges.

The new updated Heberlein WarpJet boasts performance improvements of between 10 percent and 50 percent thanks to higher operating speeds, lower air consumption, and higher nip numbers. Its modular design allows a choice between a cost optimization and high-end performance solution.

The new updated KF Jet Insert guarantees there are no imperfections in the fabric such as pinholes, teardrops or stripes. It provides a 15 percent to 30 percent increased unwinding speed compared to non-interlaced yarn together with improved energy efficiency.

The latest Heberlein PolyJet SP-2 HP has the full range of jet inserts for producing all yarns including finer denier (<50 denier) with 0.9 air orifice. It claims to offer high performance with interlace numbers, fewer broken filaments and reduced air consumption. It has been fully optimized for yarns less than 2.5 denier per filament and microfilaments operating at lower pressures, it’s possible to replace the jet pack on the existing SP-2 housing.

The latest Fibrevision Fraytec FV2 claims to “boast increased trigger optics with software selection of fault size.” Broken filament faults are measured with fault size options available for 3mm, 4.5mm and 6mm from the yarn. It also has improved noise immunity and connectors, includes central optic for denier variation and interlaces measurement. The system is capable of handling up to 12 end winders and allows integration with Fraycam 2.”

Temco will show the new covering spindle type USU for 5.5-inch and 6.5-inch bobbins with a package weight of up to 2.5 kilograms. This universal spindle with a shaft diameter of 16.65 mm says to cover the whole speed range of 0 – 30,000 1/min without restrictions. The USU is feasible with spindle bores of Ø3 to Ø9 mm and also newly allows installation in a spindle rail bore of Ø42 mm. Also to be seen is the roller-bearing high-speed separator roller VR50300- 00-HS. These separator rollers can be applied for a wide variety of spinning processes, and in the hotbox with a maximum yarn temperature of 190°C and a maximum yarn speed of 5,500 m/min.